Part I: SOCIAL CHANGE THROUGH SOCIAL POLICY

SEPTEMBER 19, 2014

Are you interested in learning more about how community psychologists work to create social change by influencing policy?

Lenny Jason, PhD and Ken Maton, PhD illustrate how to bring about social change through social policy, drawing on their respective areas of expertise. The presentation provides an in depth look into principles of social change, an overview of the social policy process, and a description of methods and skills community psychologists employ to influence policy. A number of successful social policy interventions undertaken by community psychologists are highlighted.

Learning Objectives:

1. Principles of Social Change2. Social Policy Actors, Phases and Contextual Factors3. Social Policy Influence Methods and Skills

About the Presenters

Dr. Leonard Jason

Leonard A. Jason (@CenterRes) received his PhD in clinical psychology from the University of Rochester in 1975. He is currently a Professor of Psychology at DePaul University and the Director of the Center for Community Research. This fall will be Jason’s 40th year as a faculty member at DePaul University. He is a past Director of Clinical Training for the Clinical Psychology Doctoral program, past faculty sponsor of Psi Chi, and was one of the faculty members responsible for the creation of the human services concentration and community concentration within the psychology undergraduate program. He also was one of the faculty members that helped create the doctoral program in Community Psychology. Jason has served on 83 Thesis Committees (of which he chaired 57), and 70 Dissertation Committees (of which he chaired 36).

Jason is a former president of the Division of Community Psychology of the American Psychological Association (APA) and a past editor ofThe Community Psychologist. Jason has served as the Vice President of the International American Association of CFS/ME. He also served as the Chairperson of the Research Subcommittee of the U.S. Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Advisory Committee, which makes recommendations to the Secretary of Health and Human Services. Jason has edited or written 23 books, and he has published over 600 articles and 75 book chapters on chronic fatigue syndrome; Oxford House recovery homes; the prevention of alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse; media interventions; and program evaluation. He has served on the editorial boards of ten psychological journals. Jason has served on review committees of the National Institutes of Health, and he has received over $34,000,000 in federal research grants. He has received three media awards from the APA, and is frequently asked to comment on policy issues for numerous media outlets.

Dr. Kenneth Maton

Ken Maton is Professor of Psychology and Affiliate Professor, Department of Public Policy, at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC). This past year he co-chaired (with Doug Perkins) the SCRA Policy Committee. Ken is currently writing a book, Influencing Social Policy, based on interviews with 80 psychologists actively involved in the policy arena. He recently prepared (with Keith Humphreys, Leonard Jason, and Beth Shinn), “Community psychology in the policy arena”, the policy chapter for the forthcoming Handbook of Community Psychology. In 2004 he co-edited (with Bonnie Leadbeater, Cynthia Schellenbach and Andrea Solarz), Investing in children, youth, families and communities: Strengths-based research and policy. Primary areas of research include minority student achievement, empowering community settings, and the community psychology of religion.

Part II: Consultation on Coalition Building & Collaborative Solutions: A Practitioner’s View

November 21, 2014

This SCRA online learning opportunity presented an overview of a consultation practice in the area of coalition building, collaborative solutions and community development. Using specific examples, Dr. Tom Wolff described how clients request help and what they want. This webinar was organized as a sample training led by Dr. Wolff, including exercises that are similar to trainings he provides to community coalitions.

Tom Wolff, Ph.D., is a community psychologist committed to issues of social justice and building healthy communities through collaborative solutions. A nationally recognized consultant on coalition building and community development, he has a lifetime of experience training and consulting with individuals, organizations, and communities across North America and around the globe.

Tom has published numerous resources to help communities solve their own problems. His most recent book is The Power of Collaborative Solutions – Six principles and effective tools for building health communities published by Jossey Bass-John Wiley in early 2010.His earlier writings on coalition building include From the Ground Up: A Workbook on Coalition Building and Community Development (with Gillian Kaye, 1997) and The Spirit of the Coalition(with Bill Berkowitz, 2000; American Public Health Association).

Part III: Culture, Context, and Community Intervention: An Ecological Perspective and Example

December 3, 2015

This webinar and SCRA online learning opportunity will provide an ecological perspective on the processes and goals of community intervention and exemplify the fundamental role of culture and context through an example from work conducted with Alaska Native villages around suicide prevention through cultural renewal.

Learning Objectives:

Participants will understanding components of an ecological framework (not Bronfenbrenner).

Participants will understand how an ecological perspective differs from evidence-based practice.

Participants will develop community resources as the primary community intervention goal.

Dr. Edison J. Trickett

Edison J. Trickett, Ph.D., is Professor Emeritus at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and Dean’s Scholar at the University of Miami, School of Education. He received his Ph.D. in Psychology from the Ohio State University, was a post-doctoral fellow at Stanford University, and held faculty positions at Yale University, the University of Maryland, and University of Illinois at Chicago before joining the faculty at the University of Miami. Throughout his career, his research has focused on the development of an ecological perspective within his field of community psychology for conducting community research and intervention. His writings have emphasized the role of culture, social context, and collaboration in conducting respectful community-based research and intervention. He has written extensively about community interventions designed to affect community development. In addition, during the past 20 years he has focused on the role of public schools in the acculturation and adaptation of immigrant and refugee adolescents and families. He has published over 150 books, book chapters, and scholarly papers, has served as President of Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, received its award for Distinguished Contribution to Theory and Research in Community Psychology, the Seymour Sarason award, and served as Editor of that field’s primary journal, The American Journal of Community Psychology .